


It all started at Summer School

by Obsessed_Frenchie



Series: La nuit, tous les chats sont gris. [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, High School, Liam is a dumbass, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Summer School, Theo Raeken is a Softie, and a dumbass, bi liam, gay theo, idk i'll probs add more later thx bye
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24437821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obsessed_Frenchie/pseuds/Obsessed_Frenchie
Summary: Theo tries to get his life back on tracks and goes to summer school to graduate.Liam is forced to go to summer school because he has a shitty GPA.Theo is good at Biology while Liam struggles.Liam is good at History while Theo struggles.They have to work together, and we all know what happens next.Spin-off of La nuit, tous les chats sont gris. but you can read it on its own.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: La nuit, tous les chats sont gris. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764907
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMERS:
> 
> 1) I chose to make Liam (& friends) 2 years younger than Scott (& friends), meanwhile Theo is between them. This is set ~1 year after Season 6. Liam is 17 and is going to be a Senior the next year. Theo is 18.
> 
> 2) I am French and we don't do summer school here, therefore I know absolutely nothing about how it works. I just imagined something that would be convenient for my story (cause I'm the author so I can), with the excuse that it's Beacon Hills and BHHS is known to do whatever the f*ck they want anyways. If you're american, you're probably going to think "this is not accurate", sorry!
> 
> 3) I'm still in the process of writing the main story of this spin-off, and I'm going to try to focus on it rather than this fanfiction, so the updates might not come really often (I'm a slow writer). I'm sorry in advance!
> 
> 4) If you're also reading my other fic you will be spoiled when chapter 7 and 8 come out. But what happens is pretty predictable anyways and you'll get to read what led to it in this current fic so, your choice to make!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! 
> 
> If you follow my other work La nuit, tous les chats sont gris., know that I'm also working on it and Chapter 7 will be up as soon as I'm done writing Chapter 8. I just took a quick pause beginning writing this spin-off because I really love Thiam and I wanted to develop their story. Hope you don't mind!
> 
> In the mean time, maybe you'll enjoy reading this <3

Chapter 1: 

At first, he had been terrified. He cried and shouted while clawing desperately at the concrete ground as the ice-cold hands of the ghost of his dead sister pulled in through the crack on the ground, calling – no, pleading - for Scott to have mercy on him.

Then he discovered hell. Well, it might not have been Hell as portrayed in the Bible, but Theo was an atheist, so he wasn’t surprised nor disappointed. It was his own personal hell he was sent to. Fear and pain were his only motors as time dragged on and he was left roaming the deserted hospital corridors, trying to get away from Tara, before she’d eventually find him and rip his heart – no, her heart - out of his ribcage. Again, and again, and again.

He didn’t feel the need to sleep or to eat, yet he could still feel the cold, and pain. He wished, every time he was left waking up again on the freezing metal bench of the morgue, that he’d stopped feeling it eventually. But no. In fact, it seemed he only grew more attuned to his senses, his emotions, as time went on. He had stopped counting the minutes passing after a couple of hours, and soon, he could no longer tell if it had been a day, a week, or a month since he had been condemned. Punished.

 _This_ , was a new emotion. Guilt. Remorse. Every time he’d face Tara’s mad eyes fixed on his, he’d feel it a little more. He deserved it. Everything happening to him, he brought it to himself. He’d bask in the overwhelming pain shooting through his whole body every time his sister’s cold hand plunged slowly into his chest and grabbed this heart that had started it all, thinking: “You deserve it. You don’t get to be scared, or sad, or desperate. You deserve it.”

And yet, each time his endless nightmare started again, he was overcome with the need to run. Run as fast as he could, run for his life. He knew he was dead, he knew there was no coming back, nothing to expect after, no way to stop it. And yet. He prayed gods he didn’t believe in to save him, to pull him out of hell, to let him rest in peace. He wished every passing second for Scott – or anybody – to change their mind. Although he knew he deserved it, he deserved death, and hell, he started to desperately hope for a new chance at life. Anything but this, anything but hell.

Making plans was all that kept him from becoming insane. He’d imagine running away from Beacon Hills, starting a new life, a better one. He’d imagine helping the McCall Pack, redeeming himself, becoming pack. He’d imagine finishing school, having a job, doing something meaningful. Something that didn’t involve murders and lies. He’d imagine a life he’d probably never have.

And then, just as his hope started to falter and his sanity with it, it happened. He didn’t believe it at first, thinking hallucinations was the next step in hell’s plan to punish him for his deeds. But before he knew it, he was pulling himself out a crack in the concrete floor of the sewers, claws and fangs out.

It was Liam. Liam had pulled him out of hell.

He didn’t have time to be thankful, or glad, though. They’d brought him back because they needed help, but it didn’t come with friendship. It came with more hatred than ever, and the threat of being put back in the ground after the smallest of mistakes. It came with Theo being angry and bitter, but contrary to what Liam or anybody else might think, he also came back with remorse.

But it was still better than hell.

There was the Wild Hunt, and the hunters, and the Anuk-Ite. He was embarrassed to admit he kind of enjoyed being useful to the pack, and secretly hoped it would help getting back in their good grace. He didn’t let it show, though. He couldn’t bring himself to beg, or even being remotely friendly. It wasn’t him.

And that was about all for Theo. Despite all of the mental planning he had been doing back in hell, reality wasn’t as simple. All he had left was his truck and a secret stash of cash hidden inside of it. It was enough to survive for a few months, maybe a year if he lived sparsely. But it wasn’t enough to have a proper life.

Obviously, the truth was Theo wasn’t looking for money. Since he’d been back from hell, the urge to have a pack, to _belong_ , never had been stronger. But it was clear, even after all the help he’d provided, that the McCall Pack would never trust him enough again. He could have left town and look for a new pack, yes, but there was no place he knew better than Beacon Hills, and a random pack of werewolves wouldn’t just take him without knowing anything about him. And telling anybody about his past was out of the question entirely. There was no point leaving to go nowhere: being an Omega chimera living in his car in an unknown place was basically suicide. So, Theo was stuck.

After the whole hunters/Anuke-Ite debacle ended and the dust settled, he was back at square one. The pack didn’t mind him any more business they had in the last few months when the town was not under attack from supernatural forces. Stiles was back in Washington for his FBI training, Lydia was not too far away in MIT, and Scott left for UC Davis. And Theo… Well Theo was broke, and tired of moping around doing nothing while life was getting more and more sad and boring.

First, he found a job. It was positively miserable: he’d manage to convince some dodgy guy owning a workshop on the outskirt of town to let him be a choir boy in exchange of a wage way below anything legal. As a bonus though, he’d been allowed to leave his truck parked behind the shop and sleep in it at night, under the pretense of watching for potential robbers. Now the cops couldn’t choo him away of any random place he parked at night.

He lived and worked there for a few months, managing to eat somewhat okay food every day, and saving enough money to allow himself one real night’s sleep in an actual bed (plus a real shower) every weekend in a dingy motel on a road nobody but truckers knew about.

As weeks turned into months, his little routine didn’t go unnoticed to the old Mexican couple owning the motel, and despite his best attempts at being the least friendly and amiable he could, they took a liking to him. They’d make sure he always had the same room available every Saturday evening, and even offered him breakfast on Sunday mornings. Starved of any human socialization (that wasn’t with his creepy boss), Theo had found himself making small talk with the charming old lady more and more often, and hating it a little less every time.

However, an unwelcome encounter soon came to disturb his relative peace of mind when Sheriff Stinlinski parked his car in the shop parking lot one evening. Theo recognized the familiar scent before the man even set foot inside, and braced himself for the storm that would follow. Except it didn’t.

***

_ 3 months earlier: _

“Sheriff Stinlinski”, he greeted him simply.

“Hello, Theo”, the Sheriff answered politely.

Theo was surprised not to detect any hostility in his smell or behavior, but remained careful.

“Took you long enough to find me”, he dared. The man let a small chuckle out.

“Gotta admit you didn’t make it easy. I made my officers look through hours of CCTV footage of the whole town before we finally spotted your truck in the area.”, he admitted. Theo rejoiced on knowing he made the police officers struggle a bit, but the fear of what it meant for his future was stronger. He couldn’t help asking bitterly:

“So, what do you want from me? Did the pack finally decide to put me back in the ground?”

“No, kid. Nothing like that. Scott simply wanted to know if you were still around, and if you were doing okay.”, the Sheriff answered.

“What?”, Theo strangled. Scott was worried about him? No, probably not like that. He most likely just wanted to make sure Theo wasn’t plotting on annihilating their little pack again. He put his impassible mask back on.

“Well you can tell Scotty I’m thriving. I have a job and a place to live, as you can see.”, he almost spat.

Stinlinski huffed, looking around the dodgy shop with a disdainful expression.

“Yeah, thriving indeed. You know this place isn’t the most law-abiding business, right?”

Theo shrugged. Of course he knew.

“So what? I thought you didn’t come to arrest me. Changed your mind?”, he asked with a fake smirk.

“No. I just want to know what your plans for the future are. You can’t live like that forever and you know it. You’re not even legal yet,” Sheriff Stinlinski answered with a surprising softness in his voice, catching Theo off-guard.

“My plans are my business. You can tell the McCall pack that they have my number if they need me, but I’d rather keep my life private.”

“I’m not asking for the Pack, Theo. I’m asking for you.”, he sighed. There was an awkward pause. “Listen, I might not like you very much given your past mistakes, but you’re still a kid, and an ally. As Sheriff of Beacon Hills, it’s also my job to make sure the people living here are safe, and I’m not saying safe from you”, he added before Theo could say anything, “I’m saying safe as in not letting a kid I know from since he was 6 be homeless and left without any form of support.” He looked like uttering these words hurt him a little, but he wasn’t lying. Theo watched, stunned, as the Sheriff struggle to find his next words. He barely registered that the man knew about his precarious living situation.

“You know I… I believe in second chances. You’re young, and you proved yourself to the Pack more than once. They might not care what you do or how you live but they trust you enough to let you be. Now’s your chance to do something with this opportunity. Something else than… This,” he finished while giving another disgusted look around the old greasy workshop.

Theo was too baffled to answer. He tried to stay impassible, but he saw in the Sheriff’s pitiful look that his surprise showed. Nobody knowing him for longer than a few weeks had shown any interest in him for months, and the first person to do so was the last one he expected. Yet, something in him bloomed again this day… Hope. He cleared his throat and tried to recompose himself.

“I don’t know… I, hum… I think I want to graduate.”, he blurted suddenly, shocked at his own words. It was true, he’d thought about enrolling in Beacon Hills High again to finally finish high school, but he’d never shared the thought with anybody else before. Even Ms. Flores from the motel. But it was impossible, he couldn’t possibly be in the same establishment as the Puppy Pack without them trying to kill him, and even so, Scott would never allow it.

“But I can’t go to Beacon Hills High School, Scott will ne-”

“I don’t care what Scott thinks”, the Sheriff interrupted. “He might be the Alpha protecting this town from supernatural threats, but I am still the Sheriff protecting it from the rest. You going to school has nothing to do with Pack business, and neither Scott nor anybody else, - yes, even my stupidly nosy son -, has to know about it.”, he said eagerly. Theo understood how he’d manage to stay Sheriff for all these years, he really had what it takes. However, he remained unconvinced.

“He’ll know sooner or later. And I can’t stop working anyways, I have no money, no… No nothing. I’m not even sure I’m not legally dead,” he chuckled bitterly to the Sheriff, suddenly resenting him for awakening this useless feeling of hope inside of him.

“Maybe I can help with that. Don’t expect a miracle, but this woman,” he said while pulling a small business card out of his back pocket, “it’s her job to help kids like you. She can probably figure out how to get you back to school, get you identification papers, open a bank account, this kind of stuff.”, Stilinski said.

“Social worker”, Theo read out loud the small card in his greasy hand. He huffed, irritation itching under his skin. He would have preferred the Sheriff to come arrest him for a crime he hadn’t commit rather than having to suffer through his suffocating pity. He crumbled the card in his hand and threw it on the dirty floor. The Sheriff let a disappointed sigh out of his mouth, before taking a step forward. Theo didn’t have time to react before the man was putting a hand on his shoulder and looking at him in the eyes:

“Just… Think about it, okay?”

Theo had to fight back the urge to push him away, and watched helplessly as the man left the shop. He quickly got back to his cleaning, trying to forget the interaction altogether. However, his gaze fell on the crumpled business card still lying on the floor a few minutes later, and Theo picked it up before tucking it in one of his pockets, hating himself wholeheartedly in the process.

***

Surprisingly, it seemed luck finally came his way after that. A few days later, he was told by Ms. Flores during one of their Sunday breakfast together that their night receptionist was resigning and they needed somebody to replace him really soon. She had gone on telling him about how it used to be their daughter who worked this job before she went to college a year ago, and they were thinking of taking another student because they were nice and reliable.

Theo seized the opportunity. He almost begged the old lady to give him a chance, but she didn’t need much convincing. He could start the next week, he just had to learn how to smile a little more until then, she had said. Theo had chuckled before thanking her as sincerely as he could, considering his emotional constipation.

On the same week, he was forcing himself to call the number on the card who had been sitting untouched on his dashboard for days. Anxiety pumped through his veins as he booked an appointment for the next day with the courteous lady on the other end of the phone. 

She’d been surprisingly helpful and unjudgmental. Theo had invented some lie about being pulled in a life of petty crimes and delinquency from a young age, and the woman simply told him there was no need dwelling on the past because he was in her office to start building his future. He could have been touched, but well, it was her job after all. In the span of an hour, Theo had the right documents to get an ID in the incoming weeks, start a proper (meaning _legal)_ job and open a bank account.

The next week, Theo was spending his first night at the counter of the small motel he now had a permanent, and _free_ , room in (well, fees were taken off his salary but it was cheaper than for a normal tenant). The job probably would have been tiring and boring for any normal human, but Theo being part coyote, he really was thriving at night. After a few days, he had mustered enough courage to ask Ms. Flores if she still had her daughter’s schoolbooks in her possession, and if he could borrow them. Luckily, she did.

Thus, the next part of Theo’s plan to get a somewhat normal life began, and he spent the next few months before summer studying as much as he could during his 8p.m. to 4a.m. shifts. Theo invested himself fully into his mission, not that it was too hard for him to accumulate as much scholar knowledge as he could in the span of just a few weeks. Especially considering business wasn’t exactly booming for the Flores, and he was only distracted by clients once or twice a night, on the good days.

Things only complicated in June, when it was time to try and convince the principal, Mrs. Martin, to let him enroll into summer school and finally graduate. She’d agreed to a meeting, but not without the supervision of Sheriff Stinlinski, who had looked all too happy to see Theo move forward in life. The chimera refused to admit it out loud, but the man had indeed managed to persuade him he deserved a somewhat normal future.

Mrs. Martin, however, had developed a very strict “no supernatural trouble at school” policy following the many disastrous events that had taken place at BHHS in the past, and she clearly still held a strong grudge against the “evil” chimera. Theo had to set his pride aside to win her over, promising he wasn’t looking to make any trouble again, and that if he did, she was encouraged to tell the Sheriff and the McCall Pack on him. Theo wasn’t as surprised as he should have been to hear the Sheriff backing him up and saying the boy was “his responsibility” in case something went wrong. It really went on to show how weirdly trusting the man was of Theo, and the chimera found himself determined not to disappoint him. Maybe it was just the kind of support he needed.

In the end, Mrs. Martin agreed to let Theo go through a general test to determine if his level was sufficient to graduate after a few weeks of summer classes. She knew he had an impressive record when he first came back in town and studied at BHHS, but she always imagined it was another one of his tricks to manipulate them all. However, when the chimera came back to school two days later to pass the test and the results shown he’d done either good or excellent depending on the subject, the principal had no other choice but to let him enroll.

When he was about to leave the parking lot that same day, the Sheriff came to his car.

“Hey kid, I heard you did good today”, he said through his rolled down window.

“News travel fast, I see,” Theo retorted.

“Yeah, Ms. Martin is a little…”, he trailed off. “Well, I’m sure you’ll manage to convince her you’re not a danger – anymore,” he added, hopeful. He smelled like he wanted to believe it, but he still had his doubts, although little. Theo didn’t know what to say and just nob. The Sheriff gave him a small smile and started to walk away, but he stopped after a couple of steps and turned again:

“Don’t make me regret my choice, ok Theo?”, he almost pleaded. Theo gulped nervously. _I hope I won’t_ , he thought.

“I won’t, Sheriff.”, he only answered. He started his car hoping he wasn’t lying again. After all, old habits die hard.

***

Liam, of course, had no idea any of this had been going on during the last months. When his dad’s car rolled down the high school parking lot at the start of July, the beta was ready to throw himself under its wheel when it’d departed again, although he knew it wouldn’t kill him.

After his sophomore year was basically ruined by supernatural nonsense and attacks, the care of the town had been left to him and his friends for their two remaining years of high school, as Scott and the others were leaving for college. Although the past year had been much calmer on the supernatural side, minus a few minor incidents, Liam had a hard time staying on top of his grades. The pressure of being the substitute Alpha paired with general school and life stuff had been a little too much to bear, and his struggle was starting to have consequences. Despite Coach Finstock’s protests, he had been given an ultimatum by his head teacher: either he improved his GPA before senior year started, or he couldn’t play on the Lacrosse team anymore.

Hence summer school.

Liam wanted to be here about as much as he wanted to be mauled by a rogue Omega, but he had no other choice. His teachers were right. Not only he would be forbidden to stay on the Lacrosse team if he failed, but it also would look bad for his chances to go to college. He couldn’t struggle during his senior year like he did this past year, he had to catch up before it was too late.

He sighed, defeated, and walked inside the school to the right classroom. He quickly scanned the room where a few students were already sat, sulking looks on their faces. He recognized a few faces but of course, none of his friends were here. He was about to go sit at the front row when his eyes caught the sight of an all too familiar face: Theo Raeken was sitting at the back of the classroom, reading a book and probably ignoring the beta purposefully.

Surprise hit him, quickly taken over by a simmering anger, and he quickly marched to the boy, almost growling.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Theo?”, he curtly asked the unimpressed chimera.

“I know you’re not the smartest, Liam, but come on. What do you think I’m doing?”, the young man answered flatly.

“I don’t know, probably something evil, knowing you”, the beta said while sitting down next to Theo. “Explain yourself before I rip you apart”, he threatened. Theo chuckled mockingly, eyes nonchalantly fixed on the blank board at the front of the class. He wouldn’t even spare him a look. Liam’s anger increased and the chimera probably felt it, because he finally answered:

“I’m graduating, Liam. So please calm down and don’t make this shitty experience even shittier.”

The beta was at a loss for words, staring at the side of Theo’s head in confusion. He was going to retort something when a teacher Liam didn’t know entered the class.

“Good morning everybody! I’m Ms. Millard. Some of you know may already know me as their English teacher, but today and for the next few weeks, I’ll be managing group studies and projects for this class. Of course, I can still help those of you struggling in English, but it’s not my main role, alright?”, she declared energetically. The class was watching her in silence, uninterested. She grimaced:

“Okay kids, I know you’re not excited about coming back to school in July, well let me assure you the feeling is mutual.”, the woman declared with a sympathetic smile.

Hushes and grumbles of approval rose from the room before she started speaking again:

“But! I intend to make this time the most bearable I can for you all, so in return, I expect you to be as willing to progress as you can. Let’s not make this harder for both me and you, alright?”

A few students nodded in agreement, others just smiled a bit, probably reassured their head teacher for the next weeks wasn’t a merciless tyrant. Theo and Liam kept to a tense silence.

“Good, very good. Okay, let’s move on. As you might have noticed, some of you are juniors and others are seniors. I don’t really like it but well, this is a public school so, hum…”, she trailed off with desperation in her voice, hinting at BHHS lack of funds. “Anyways, I’ll try my best to make it work. I created pair working groups based on the subjects each of you are good and… less good at, so that you can mutually help each other. I’ll call your names now and you’ll get in groups after, okay? So, Lily Peterson, you’ll work with-”

Liam stopped paying attention and turned back to Theo, who was pretending to listen to Ms. Millard. He spat menacingly at the boy:

“Theo, I promise you, if you try anything, I’ll-”

“Don’t worry Dunbar, Mrs. Martin is ready to call the Sheriff and Scott as soon as I do as much as speak a bit too loud, so you’re safe.”, he retorted bitterly.

“Wait, Mrs. Martin knows you’re here?”, Liam asked, confused. It was a dumb question, he realized a second too late.

“Oh Liam.”, the chimera finally turned to him with a mocking smirk on his lips. “How do you think I could have gotten here if Mrs. Martin didn’t allow it? Huh?”

He was right, there was no other way. The school really had top notch security now, which was probably why the budget for actual education had been cut. Anyways, Theo wouldn’t have gone unnoticed to Mrs. Martin knowing eyes if he’d entered school ground without her approval. Liam grumbled to the ever-smirking _asshole_ next to him.

“I’m telling Scott and the rest of the pack.”, he said with determination, getting his phone out of his pocket.

“Go ahead, Sheriff Stinlinski already knows anyways,” Theo answered nonchalantly.

“What?”, Liam exclaimed confusedly.

Theo didn’t have time to answer though.

“Young man, no phone in the classroom please!”, Ms. Millard told him off from the front of the room. “Or I’ll take it and you can get it back at the end of the day.”, she added with a pointed look. The beta grumbled and put the device back in his pocket. He could see Theo grinning from the side of his vision.

“Where was I…”, the teacher resumed. “Ah! Liam Dunbar, you’re with Theo Raeken.”

Both boys’ heads shot up in shock when hearing their names. The teacher realized she was already talking to one of them and added:

“Good, you’re already in pair! Tell me which one of you is who.”, she said while taking notes on a sheet of paper.

“I’m Theo.”, the chimera answered simply. Instead of doing the same, Liam quickly shot his hand up in the air. He was going to protest when the teacher cut him:

“Noted… I’ll answer questions later Liam. Let me finish with the groups, okay?”, she said before going back to her list.

Liam plumbed back to his sit, anger flowing through him again as he waited for the teacher to be done. He couldn’t possibly study with Theo for the next few weeks, he wouldn’t survive it. The chimera had said that the Sheriff was aware of him going to school, and the principal had agreed… And Theo hadn’t cause any trouble in a while. To be honest, he had even been really helpful the last times he saw him, although he had a gift to get on his nerves, they did make a great team… _No, it’s Theo, you can’t possibly consider working with Theo voluntarily, can you?_

Liam glared at the chimera’s side again. He hadn’t changed a lot in almost a year. His hair might have been a little longer, and his skin a little tanner. It was weird seeing him here of all places, not plotting against Liam’s pack, not fighting the latest bad guy, just being… _normal_. He had wondered where the chimera went after the war with Monroe was won, but his mind had quickly been overwhelmed with more urgent matters and he just… stopped thinking about it as much. When he asked the others, it seemed they all just assumed he skipped town and would never be seen again.

Expect he hadn’t, apparently. What was he even doing in Beacon Hills, outside of making Liam’s life ten times harder by deciding to go to summer school at the same time as him? The beta didn’t have time to ponder the question before his attention was drawn back to the teacher.

“Ok, that’s the last group, I think. Anybody missing or that I haven’t called?”. No answer. “Good. Now, as for those of you who absolutely want to change group for a _serious_ reason-”, Liam’s hand was high in the air before she was done talking and Ms. Millard frowned in his direction, looking mildly annoyed, “please come see me at the _end_ of class.”, she finished, meanwhile the werewolf was retracting his arm slowly with a desperate look on his face. He sighed miserably, and heard Theo snicker.

“What is so funny, Theo? Don’t tell me you actually want to do this, because if it’s one of your devil ploys to manipulate me again, I’m not gonna wait for Scott’s approval to put you back where you belong,” he spat angrily. Maybe a little bit too angrily, looking as Theo’s demeanor shifted slightly and the smell of anxiety wafted his way. It was gone in an instant though, and Theo’s face was blank again. Now Liam was angry _and_ confused.

They didn’t talk at all for the rest of the hour. Liam listened distractingly as Ms. Millard explained that there would be different teachers present at school different days of the week and that they could consult them if needed, but that they were expected to mainly work in pairs most of the time. They would also pass an exam each week in the subject they were the worse at to determine their progress, and their best scores would be kept to improve their final GPA.

It shouldn’t be that bad, Liam thought. Then, he eyed to his side, reminded of who he was supposed to work with, and sighed painfully again.

When the bell finally rang, Liam sprung to his feet so fast he almost knocked the table down. He was going to walk to the teacher’s desk when he felt a hand grasp his arm from behind. He quickly turned around to be faced with Theo holding him in place.

“Let me go, you asshole.”, he growled.

“Wait!”, the chimera pleaded. Stunned, Liam paused and snatched his arm back, but didn’t move. Theo looked like he was struggling to find what to say, and Liam’s patience was running thin. “Look, hum… Believe me when I say I’m not thrilled to spend the next 6 weeks working with you, but…”, he paused, hesitated. It was strange coming from him, the smooth talking were-creature who had managed to slither his way into Scott’s pack about 2 years ago, and Liam had to admit it made him curious.

“Listen, I’m really just here to graduate as fast as possible and get the hell away from here, and I… I know nobody here but you, and I’m struggling a bit in History, which I know is your favorite subject, so you must be good at it. And I’m amazing at Biology so I’m guessing you’re shit at it and we were paired together for this precise reason.” (Liam huffed, his pride hurt. It was true, though.) “So let’s just help each other here, okay? You can still threaten me all you want while I save your ass again, but huh… please?”, the chimera finished.

He looked desperate. Desperate enough to admit his weaknesses, to admit that he didn’t want to work with a total stranger, even. Liam thought for a second. He was sincere, he really just wanted to graduate and… leave Beacon Hills. And the beta did really need help in Biology, his score was so low in the subject it ruined his whole GPA. Even Mason couldn’t help him anymore, at this point. Liam was rather desperate himself. Apparently, he was just desperate enough to clench his teeth, sigh heavily, shuffle his feet in hesitation, and eventually nod slightly to the chimera in front of him.

Theo’s body visibly relaxed at the beta’s agreement, which thrown the beta off a little. He usually didn’t let that kind of stuff show, but it seemed he lowered his walls down just enough to let Liam see how sincere he was. Did the chimera finally learned how to be a normal human being?, Liam thought.

Seemingly satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, Theo walked to the door. Liam followed him after a second of immobile astonishment. When they were close to the front desk, Ms. Millard called:

“Is everything okay, Liam? I was under the impression you wanted to change partner earlier.”

Liam stopped on his tracks, all too aware of Theo hovering behind him, probably waiting to hear his answer.

“Yeah, everything’s good Ms. Millard. I changed my mind.”, he said with a forced smile. The teacher looked between the two teenagers with a quizzical expression on her face, but finally smiled back.

“I’m glad. I think you too are going to make a fine team.”, she declared.

Liam nodded quickly and turned away. His gaze met Theo’s sarcastic one.

She had no idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I know it's not that interesing as I'm mostly setting up the context and all, but I'll try to make chapter 2 more exciting. 
> 
> Leave a kudo or a comment if you liked it, it would mean the world to me! Bye <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! 
> 
> First of all, I feel like I can't upload this chapter without acknowledging what's going on in the world right now. I think everybody who has a voice online or IRL should be using it for the right things, so I'm telling you: you can't ignore the current events following the murder of George Floyd and many others. Even if you feel like this is not your fight because you're not black (I'm not either), you can still do a lot to help. Sign petitions online, donate if you can, read about BLM and racism, learn about how to be an ally, but DON'T ignore what's going on. If you do, you are part of the problem. #BlackLivesMatter #ACAB
> 
> Now back to this fanfiction:  
> Your support really motivated me and I ended up writing chapter 2 fairly quickly. I also have so many ideas for the next chapters, I can't wait to write them!  
> I hope this isn't too boring tho, I just wanted the boys to get to know each other (outside of battle) a little. Also, sorry for the probably shitty writing style, I'be been really tired for the past few days and I can't english that well half of the time lmao. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Chapter 2:

“Come on Liam, it’s not that hard! You just have to learn this diagram by heart for the rest of the sheet to make sense.”, Theo yell-whispered dryly.

They had been working on genetics for 2 days straight and their first exam was the next day, but despite that it looked like the beta was making no effort to try and understand the lesson. It had been less than a week since summer school started, less than a week since he had to – yet again – put his pride aside to convince a guy who hated him that he needed his help, and he was already starting to regret it.

“Says the guy who can’t remember 3 dates right and thought Martin Luther King died in 1876.”, Liam spat back angrily, making a slight effort to keep his voice down.

Theo tried to keep his calm even though the remark stung. He had to, for the sake of his graduation. Liam was as short fused as always, and having to work on Biology seemed to only make it worse. So much so that most of their mandatory afternoon working session until then had ended with them yelling insults at each other; Liam even punched him once. The librarian already threatened to ban them from the place twice, there would be no next time.

In spite of the very real risk though, Theo couldn’t help defending himself:

“It just makes no sense to me that Segregation was abolished less than a century ago! It was like… Yesterday!”, he emphasized. Another student shushed him, only to receive a death glare from both teens.

This seemed to calm Liam down a bit though, as he stared in disbelief for a second. But the angry glare in his eyes was back soon.

“I mean, yeah, it’s absolutely outrageous, but it’s part of our History, and History is what made us. You have to know those things! By heart!”, he exclaimed.

“Come on, we both know History is full of bullshit. Nobody talks about people like us, for one! Remember that big bad Nazi werewolf? No History books mentions that kind of stuff.”, he retorted in a dry hush.

Liam looked surprised, before answering more calmly:

“Well, you’re wrong. Mason and I looked into it and they are actually reports of ‘beasts’ and ‘demons’ fighting in the German ranks, it’s just that there were huge cover up stories about Nazis taking drugs to enhance their abilities. I mean, they were definitely taking drugs, but some of them were also supernatural, most likely.”

Theo was caught off guard by his calm, knowledgeable tone.

“Wow, that’s actually really interesting.”, he couldn’t help whispering. Liam’s face lit up immediately:

“Right? I told you History wasn’t boring, you just have to look at the right places. What we learn in school might not be the most interesting, but with a little digging…”, he trailed off with a proud grin.

Theo huffed but couldn’t help smiling back a little. He knew Liam was smart (kind of), but he was surprised to find himself wanting to know more. About History. It was a first. He didn’t let it show too much though, he’d let his pride down more than enough in the past few weeks.

“Alright, but nothing beats Biology when it comes to knowing ourselves. And I mean, for real, like from the inside out.”, he retorted in defiance. It was way to fun to provoke the younger wolf for him to stop.

“Why does it matter? I can live without knowing how my body works. People have been doing it forever.”, Liam said flatly. Theo was almost disappointed he didn’t snap back.

“I feel like your dad wouldn’t agree…”

Liam went to retort something but quickly shut his mouth, realizing his argumentation was lacky at best and Theo was right. The beta pouted, and Theo didn’t admit it to himself but he found it adorable.

“For example, wouldn’t you like to know what the bite did to your DNA? I’m sure you never thought about it, did you?”, the chimera asked. Liam shrugged, pretending he didn’t care.

“Well, you should know that when Scott turned you into a wolf pup-”, (Liam flicked him off), “your DNA actually changed. If it was analyzed, it would show a very common variation among humans – as you know human genetics is very diverse – and it wouldn’t raise any suspicions. That is, if not compared with your former DNA, then it would look weird, I guess…”, Theo explained to a gradually more interested Liam.

“Where did you learn that kind of stuff?”, he asked.

“Where do you think?”, Theo answered flatly. The beta suddenly looked uncomfortable and gave him a pitiful look. The chimera hated pity, it made him feel like a weak little child who didn’t know what he was doing. He wasn’t. He had known what he was doing and he was the one to blame for a lot of bad things.

“Come on, don’t give me this look.”, he groaned. “I mean, sure, it sucked, but at least I got to learn things nobody else knows about the science of the supernatural.”

The beta relaxed and sighed defeatedly, before saying:

“Okay, I guess this is kinda interesting too. You got a point.” ( _Wow, this is a huge thing to admit for him_.) “But the thing is… none of it is in the school program.”

“Yeah…”, Theo sighed painfully as well.

There was a thoughtful pause between the two, the mood getting back to Normal School-Induced-Broodiness, until Liam finally broke the silence:

“Okay, can you explain the allele thing again, please?”, he asked while getting back at the sheet of paper in front of him. The chimera was positively shocked by the change of demeanor, and he wasn’t going to try and break the spell. He felt like they had some kind of breakthrough; something close to a mutual understanding. He smiled to himself.

“Yeah, okay. So, see here…”

***

It was Friday, 10am. Theo was just getting out of some Spanish class he had chose to take for some extra credits, and he’d just received a text from Liam saying he was waiting for him in the library. His first History exam, that he had taken at 8 this morning, had gone surprisingly okay, although he was not too satisfied with his last essay. But apparently, Liam’s Biology exam had gone way worse, seeing as Theo found the young werewolf sulking on the floor, at the back of the school library. The whole area around him smelled of desperation with a slight pang of anger.

“You look terrible.”, Theo said as a greeting, sitting down in front of the beta. He raised his head, glaring, and presented his middle finger with a smirk as an answer.

“You look like trash. Do you even sleep?”, Liam retorted. Theo’s eye twitched in irritation, and tiredness. The beta was right, he had less time to rest before and after his night shifts now that summer school had started, and he hadn’t slept in more than 24h because he had to study for his first of many exams. He _felt_ like trash. But he didn’t need Liam of all people to remind him of it.

“I was up all night plotting my revenge against your pack”, he joked lightly. Liam jumped in surprise, looking outraged, just to realize a second later than Theo was messing with him. The chimera snickered proudly at Liam’s touchiness. The beta growled angrily; he wasn’t in the mood for jokes, apparently.

“Calm down, puppy. I’m joking.”, he reassured him. “I just studied all night.”, he added. Liam looked shocked at the admission.

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“No, it’s just weird.”, Liam said. Theo resisted the anger rising inside of him. It was harder to keep his emotions in check when he was exhausted.

“What is weird, Liam?”, he asked with irritation in his voice.

“I mean, just…”, the beta scramble for words. “Thinking of you doing normal human stuff and doing an effort to graduate. It’s weird.”

Now Theo wasn’t just angry, he was also hurt and slightly disappointed. I should have never thought this would work, he’ll never see me as anything other than what I used to be, he thought sadly. Again, being tired only made the feeling worse, and he had to use all his will not to let his hurt show. Instead, he tried to change the subject:

“So, I’m guessing Biology didn’t go too well?”

Liam glared at him again but plumped back on the worn-out carpet, another wave of desperation hitting Theo’s nose.

“It was terrible. I guessed half of my answers blindly and probably answered wrong at the other half. I’m done as the Lacrosse captain.”, the beta grumbled miserably. Theo hated himself for it, but he couldn’t help answering:

“Come on, it’s only the first week. You’ll do better next time.” Liam’s eyes rose to him, bearing the very fitting look of a kicked puppy. “If you actually listen to me and study more, that is. Maybe you’re the one who should stay up all night studying.”, he added, smirking. Liam frowned and kicked him in the shin.

“Ouch!”, Theo exclaimed. “You little piece of sh-”

“Shhhh!”, the librarian scolded them while she was putting books back in the shelf in the aisle next to them.

Theo shut his mouth but kicked the beta back with a little bit more strength. Liam tried his best not to shout in pain, and whimpered loudly instead. In reaction, Theo muffled a mocking laughter behind his hand, only making Liam want to hit him more, apparently. The IED kid launched his full body at him and the two were-creatures started to wrestle between the shelves, knocking a few books off of them in the process. From an outsider point of view, it probably looked like a violent fight, but Theo knew they were both holding their punches back.

The (rightly) angry librarian that had to ask them to stop didn’t know that, obviously. Soon, the two teens were getting thrown out of the library. They tried to apologize to the usually nice old lady who had to put up with their aggressive outbursts for the whole week, but the fact that they were yelling (increasingly more ridiculous) insults while trying to hit each other the whole time probably didn’t look too convincing.

The woman told them they could “come back on Monday when they had calmed down” and shut the door behind them. The boys looked at each other sheepishly before both exploding in loud laughter. Weirdly enough, right at this moment, Theo couldn’t be bothered with the threat of being expelled from school because he fought in the library. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed and had fun like that, and he wasn’t going to ruin it by worrying about something he couldn’t control.

“Did you call me a ‘poopy head’?”, Theo asked between two uncontrollable fits of giggles.

“Maybe?”, Liam laughed back. “I was caught up in the moment.”, he said.

They chuckled some more for a few seconds before finally calming down a little.

“Feeling better, wolf pup?”, Theo eventually asked Liam, who was still wiping tears of laughter from his face. For once, he seemed unbothered by the ridiculous nickname and just shone a bright smile at the chimera.

“Yeah, thanks! You’re a great punching ball, to be honest.”, he teased.

Theo just smirked, satisfied with the warm and relaxed smells coming out of the werewolf next to him, probably mirroring his own. You’re a fucking masochist, Theo Raeken, he scolded himself. This won’t last, he still hates you, his brain chimed. Still, he put his backpack on his shoulder before asking:

“You think you’re up for a studying session at the cafeteria?”

“Yeah, let’s go, _poopy head_.”, Liam answered, grinning.

***

The fun, unfortunately, didn’t last long.

“What do you mean you can’t remember what was in the test? It was barely 2 hours ago!”, Theo scolded him mockingly while going through the cursed Biology textbook Liam couldn’t even bring himself to look at.

“I don’t remember, that’s all! I’m pretty sure there was stuff about genetics and maybe something about the evolution of frogs but that’s all I can tell.”, Liam answered dryly, feeling the anger rising again inside of him. It was embarrassing enough to be _this_ bad at something, but having to admit it in front of smug, apathetic, asshole Theo Raeken only made it worse. And as for all of his other emotions, Liam had one, and only one, answer: anger. (Ironically, it was Theo who taught him about poeple only being able to feel one thing at a time.)

However, it seemed the asshole in question wasn’t paying much attention to the beta’s chemo signals, because he added:

“’That’s all’? Are you even trying, Liam? I can’t help you if I don’t even know were to start.”, the chimera spat in irritation.

Liam didn’t even understand what had triggered the mood change. One second, the older boy was laughing his head off because Liam had called him a ‘poopy head’, looking more human than he ever had in front of (probably) anybody in the last years; the next, he was fuming in anger and being a mean bitch because Liam was still as bad at Biology than he was the previous day. It made no sense. _Did I do something?_ His anger was stronger than his confusion, though, and he exclaimed:

“Well it’s hard to remember what a test was about when you didn’t even understand half the questions! Sorry I’ve disappointed you, Mister Perfect. You don’t have to continue helping me if it’s such a pain in your ass.”

Surprisingly, it looked like it calmed Theo a little. He suddenly stopped fidgeting with the Bio schoolbook and sighed, head low.

“You’re right, I’m sorry… I’m just… I’m tired.”, the chimera whispered.

“What?”, Liam couldn’t help gasping. Theo was admitting that he was wrong _and_ showing weakness, _again_. The beta wasn’t completely stupid, though. Even if his heart hadn’t skip a bit, he could feel Theo wasn’t telling him the whole truth. There was something bothering him, and Liam couldn’t figure it out.

“Listen, why don’t we leave Bio for now? We’ll get back at it next week, if you want.”, Theo said, adding to Liam’s confusion. Instead of answering the question, Liam asked another one:

“Why are you doing this? You’re the one who insisted we worked together but clearly you can’t bear to teach me anything, so why? Are you scared Mrs. Martin won’t let you graduate if you don’t help me?”

Theo’s head shot up and he stared at him in disbelief.

“No, it’s not… I’m not doing this for me. Well, in a way I am, because I need you in History but… I’m just tired, okay? I don’t think I’ll be much help to you today. That’s all.”, the chimera answered, evading the question. Liam’s anger was all gone by now, and only incomprehension was left. He sighed, deciding it was no use to probe the green-eyed boy further.

“Okay. Okay, let’s just focus on History then, I guess.”, he surrendered.

***

They spent the next couple of hours until lunch working on the speech Theo had had to analyze for his test the same morning. As Liam was explaining the right method to write an essay and filling in for Theo’s missing knowledge, the beta couldn’t help noticing the ever-deepening dark circles under the chimera’s eyes. Despite this, his focus seemed unwavering, as if he was drowning himself in work to distract himself from the previous - weirdly personal - fight they had.

Liam, on the other hand, was racking his brain around what could have triggered Theo’s coldness after they had so much fun play-fighting in the library. Right when the beta had started to think these few weeks might not be as terrible as he had first thought, Theo was back at being the usual piece of shit Liam knew from before. It was like he was trying to raise his walls back up, but the walls were cracked and crooked. Weird, raw emotions slipped out from time to time, throwing the beta off every time. Theo was tired, sure, and Liam knew better than anybody how it could make you snappy and irritated, but the chimera was usually so in control…

The only reason Liam could think of was that Theo hated him and was only pretending to be nice so that the beta wouldn’t tell the Pack that he was at school. The thought left a bitter taste in the back of Liam’s mouth, but he didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he cared about the guy anyways.

Yet, Liam hadn’t told the Pack. He hadn’t told anybody, in fact. Not even Mason, who had asked him repeatedly if he needed help in Biology. Not even his own Alpha, who probably would like to have this kind of information about the chimera, even though he considered him an ally now. He felt like he was betraying his pack and friends by accepting to work with the chimera, but there was also something else.

Liam suddenly realized he wanted to trust Theo, just like he had when they fought together. But this time, he wanted it to be because he was earned it in a normal, human way, not because they were both threatened by an imminent death. After all he’d seen in the last years, he wanted to believe some of the bad of this world could change into good (or _okay_ , in Theo’s case).

“I haven’t told Scott that you’re here!”, he uncontrollably blurted out. Only to notice the chimera had been talking already, but Liam wasn’t listening, lost in his thoughts.

“Huh…”, was all the chimera managed, looking shocked and confused. “Thanks, I guess?”

Liam reddened and nodded. _What am I doing?_

“Did you listen to anything I was saying?”, Theo asked, still looking puzzled.

“Hum, no.”, Liam answered sheepishly. The chimera smirked, he didn’t look pissed. _I definitely don’t understand that guy_.

“Okay.”, Theo chuckled. “It’s almost noon and I’m done writing my essay anyways, it won’t hurt to take a break, I guess.”

Liam was the one confused now. The chimera didn’t react at all. He looked… pleased with the news, but he didn’t even ask why. Not that the beta wanted to explain himself, but sill, it was weird. He must have been making a face, because Theo asked:

“You okay wolf pup? Did your brain melt after all this intense studying?”

Liam scowled at the mocking tone but was secretly glad their playful banter was back. He flicked Theo off for the use of the annoying nickname the chimera seemed to have adopted for him, but sill smiled a little.

“Yeah, I’m good, _dickhead_. Let me read what you got”, he said while taking the sheet of paper in front of Theo, “meanwhile, _you_ can rest your tired brain. You’re the one who looks like a zombie.”, he teased back.

“Well, I was indeed brought back from the dead after all. You should know, you were there.”, Theo joked. Liam almost chocked on his spit, taken aback by Theo’s breezy tone while speaking about something so grave, which only made the chimera snicker more. _Does he still hate us for sending him to hell? If he does, he’s not showing it. Well, not too much, at least._

It seemed the boy had decided to take Liam’s advice seriously, because he put his backpack on top of table and placed his arms on it, before resting his head against them and closing his eyes, sighing heavily as he relaxed. He had, after all, spent most of the morning reading and writing and hadn’t sleep all night, apparently.

Liam focused back on the short essay in his hands and frowned in irritation as he realized the chimera actually had a nice penmanship and was just as articulate on paper as in real life (when he wasn’t all weird and vulnerable, that is). Furthermore, it seemed he was a quick learner, as he had applied most of Liam’s tips and included new facts and dates. His work was fairly good, it probably deserved a B+. It only made the beta feel worse about his own inability to make any progress in Biology, but he refused to go back to his previous sulky mood. First because he was determined to do better (and to beat Theo), and second because he didn’t want Theo to make fun of him, ending up in yet another fight that would ban them from the cafeteria. _Although… It would be kinda fun_.

When the bell rang a few minutes later, Theo jumped in surprise, visibly startled by the loud noise. Liam exploded in manic laughter while the chimera tried to glare at him angrily, although his eyes were too hazy with sleep for it to be of any effect. The smaller werewolf finally calmed down and slid the reviewed essay to him. A circled ‘B-’ stood in bright red in the corner of the page, next to a doodle of Theo with wolf ears drooling on his backpack while sound asleep. Liam was pretty proud of his drawing. Theo huffed and offered him a half-amused, half-pissed glare, before wiping a trail of drool going down his chin.

***

On Monday morning, Liam was determined not to let the incoming result of his first exam ruin his good mood. He had spent the whole weekend studying with Mason (who had became too insistent to avoid), and motivating himself to keep up with the good work. He even made a study plan to make sure he covered everything that mattered. He had one, clear goal in mind since last Friday: beat Theo’s scores. He knew school wasn’t a game nor a competition, but if he had to make it one to finally find the will to progress in Biology, then he would. And he was.

“Good morning, dickhead!”, he greeted the chimera, who was already sitting at what had become _their_ table in the course of only one week (wolves were territorial after all).

“’Morning, pup.”, Theo answered. “You look way too happy for a Monday morning. It’s freaky.”, he added with a disgusted look. Liam didn’t even bother reacting to the insulting nickname and the snarly remark.

“I have a plan!”, he retorted instead.

“Are you going to blow up the school? And can I help?”, the chimera asked, grinning.

“What? No!”

Ms. Millard entered the classroom before he could explain himself further, so he just sat down with a smirk, satisfied with the confused looks Theo shot at him. After her greetings to the class, the teacher started to give back the last week’s tests, congratulating the students who had done okay or good, and encouraging the others. He saw the chimera glare angrily at the ‘C-’ on his paper, before his attention was drawn to his own, adorning a disappointing but predictable ‘F’.

“I bet I can beat every grade you get for the rest of summer school.”, he eventually whispered to Theo while the teacher was going over the week’s program.

“That’s your genius plan?”, the green-eyed boy hushed in disbelief. “I liked mine better. At least it was achievable.”, he added with a cocky grin.

“Asshole. Do you take the bet or not?”, Liam defied. Theo seemed to think for a second, hands fidgeting with his pen.

“How much?”, he finally said.

“10 bucks for every test I get a better score at than you.”

Theo smirked, eyes shining with amused interest.

“Okay Dunbar, I’m in. Get ready to pay me a hundred bucks by the end of school.”

“A hundred? Do you know how to count? There are only 5 weeks left, that’s $50, if you win every week. And you won’t.”, the beta emphasized.

“You didn’t say we couldn’t include extra, none-mandatory papers in the bet.”, Theo retorted, a sly grin on his face. Liam frowned, but it wasn’t like him to shy away from a challenge, especially one he had created.

“Alright Reaken.”, he agreed, presenting his flat hand by the side of the chimera, hidden under the desk. The boy looked confused and hesitated, but finally briefly clapped his hand on Liam’s.

Both boys turned their attention back to the front of the class, pretending they were listening to Ms. Millard. Both were sporting satisfied, cocky grins on their faces.

_Game on._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Please leave a kudo or a comment if you liked it (or not, I can take constructive criticism).  
> Reviews make me really happy! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Long time no see (at least on this fanfiction), not that anybody cares lmao
> 
> I had a surge of motivation to continue this fic in the last few weeks, and I really wanted to be done with this chapter so I could move on to more interesting ideas I have for the next ones. In the end, I still managed to find plenty of fun ideas for this part, so it's pretty long! Can't promise the next ones will be too, but hey, enjoy all the same!

Chapter 3: 

Theo thought the week was starting rather well; for once in a long time, he was optimistic about his near future. Liam’s bet idea might have been a little dumb but if the beta needed school to become a competition to finally find the motivation to be serious about his studies, then Theo didn’t mind indulging him. The extra money wouldn’t hurt either – because he would win the bet, obviously.

Then, came Monday afternoon, and his and Liam’s study session was interrupted when Mrs. Martin voice was heard on the school’s overhead speakers, asking for Theo to come see her in her office. This can’t be good, the chimera thought as he made his way through the high school’s corridors. When he reached the menacing door, he took a deep grounding breath before knocking. “Come in!”, he heard from the inside.

“You wanted to see me Mrs. Martin?”, Theo said with a polite smile while entering the room.

“Hello Mr. Raeken.”, the Principal answered curtly. This wasn’t starting really well. “Please, take a seat.”

The teenager obeyed quickly, anxious blood pumping through his veins now that he realized she had probably heard about his “fight” with Liam in the library last Friday. He was going to get expelled, he thought nervously. Of course, he let none of his fear show, his face composed and relaxed as always.

“Did I do anything wrong?”, he asked the mature woman, trying to get ahead of the uncomfortable discussion that would no doubt ensue.

“Not that I’m aware of.”, she answered with a suspicious look on her face. So the librarian didn’t tell her about Friday, the teenager thought. He let out a discreet, relieved breath as some tension left his body, but his expression was still straight and controlled.

“On the contrary,” Mrs. Martin resumed. “I’ve seen your grade on the first exam, it’s not great but it is… promising.”, she admitted, although the words seemed to hurt a little. Theo let a small smirk bloom on his lips but quickly went back to neutral.

“Thank you, Mrs. Martin.”, he said politely.

“Unfortunately, and as much as I would like it to be enough for you to graduate at the end of these 6 weeks of summer classes,” she resumed again with a satisfied smile that told nothing good for Theo, “the schoolboard, with which I met last Friday, isn’t of the same opinion.”

Shit, the chimera thought. He steeled himself for the bad news that would follow.

“We’ve reviewed your case thoroughly and even contacted Mrs. Bennet, your social worker, who, by the way, put a really good word in your favor. But according to State laws regarding education, your current school record doesn’t meet with the average number of credits required to graduate as quickly as you wish to… for now.”, she finished. Theo felt his previous hopes about his future melt into a muddy puddle into his rolling stomach. It took an incredible amount of willpower to not let any emotions slip out from behind his mental barriers.

“So what? Is this all useless?”, he asked as calmly as he could. “Do I have to enroll for a full year to finally graduate? I’ll be 20 by the time I’m done, I’m not sure I can do it.” His distress was starting to seep through the cracks of his warned out walls. Surprisingly, Mrs. Martin gave him a small, understanding smile.

“Believe me, I wasn’t too happy about the idea either. This is why I suggested an alternative solutions. Like I said, I do believe you have the potential to succeed, but the board can’t just take my words for it, so…”, she marked a pause, as if she enjoyed having Theo’s future in the palm of her hands, free to make what she wanted of it. “Basically, you’ll have to work twice as hard, if not more, as any other student during the following weeks: the board and I agreed to let you graduate on the condition you pass your GED at the end of week 6.”, she concluded. She looked both happy to announce the bad news and anxious to witness Theo’s reaction to it. The chimera, however, felt more relieved than anything. This had all been very anticlimactic.

“Is that all?”, he said with disbelief. Mrs. Martin looked taken aback.

“You do realize you have about a month, starting now, to go over the entirety of the senior year program if you want a chance to succeed?”, she retorted back. This time, Theo allowed the cocky grin on his lips.

“I know, Mrs. Martin, and I thank you for your concern, but… I can do it.”, he said in his most charming voice. The look on the Principal’s face told him she wasn’t sure he really could. But Theo liked a challenge, especially one that would test his mind. He suddenly remembered Liam’s bet.

“Do I still have to take the weekly exams in History?”, he asked.

“You don’t _have_ to, but if you do, the good grades you get will definitely play in your favor.”, Mrs. Martin answered. Good, the chimera thought. I can still win Liam’s bet while I make my way toward graduation. Theo realized the silly game could even play is his favor.

“I’m glad to hear that, but you see, I’m not asking for myself.”, he started to explain with all the charm he could muster. “The thing is, Liam and I have some kind of a bet going on.” The Principal’s eyebrows shot to her forehead with curiosity.

“A bet?”, she asked. Unsurprisingly, she looked suspicious again: Theo had to be careful. Obviously, admitting money was involved wouldn’t be a smart move; he’d have to tweak the truth just a little.

“Yeah, Liam actually came up with the idea: whoever between us two gets the lowest score at the mandatory weekly test has to buy the other lunch the next day. It’s not much, but he said it would help him stay motivated, so I accepted.”, he smiled. Mrs. Martin seemed to be deep in thoughts for a moment, eyeing the chimera as if she was trying to decide if he was genuine in his intentions or not. Finally, she nodded curtly:

“I see. Well, thank you for making sure Liam stays in the right track for success, Mr. Raeken.”

As an answer, Theo simply smiled before getting up without waiting to be dismissed. His behavior screamed ‘I’m the one in control here’.

“I won’t disappoint you, and Liam either.”, he said with feigned sincerity. He walked to the door as the principal stared at him, seemingly stunned into silence by his blatant lack of respect for her authority and her attempt at intimidating him. “Have a good day, Mrs. Martin.” And on that, he walked out and closed the door behind him. He made his way back to the library with a big, confident smile on his lips.

In hindsight, he probably wouldn’t have had smiled like that if he had known what was waiting ahead of him.

***

Liam was trying his hardest to understand the notes Mason had prepared for him during the weekend when Theo entered the library again. To Liam’s surprise, he realized he’d been absentmindedly listening to whoever was coming in while he waited for the chimera to return from the Principal’s office. He felt a breath he didn’t know he was holding escape him when the familiar sound of Theo’s steps got closer to his table, and with it an agreeable scent that his mind had learned to associate with “relaxed Theo” during the past week.

It was as a weird, unsettling realization to the beta. For one, it wasn’t a scent he had ever smelled on the chimera in the past, but looking back at their situation the last times they were forced to collaborate, it wasn’t that surprising. But most importantly, he hadn’t realized he had started to care about whether Theo was in trouble or not. It’s only because I may potentially need him a little bit to get better grades in Biology, he told himself. Nevertheless, when the chimera sat back down on the seat in front of him nonchalantly, he couldn’t help asking:

“Everything alright?” Theo looked surprised by the question for a second before his smug smile slid back on.

“You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon, wolf pup.”, he answered while opening the History book that was lying on the table, where he left it a few minutes ago. Liam was gonna protest the nickname but was cut by the chimera: “Mrs. Martin and the assholes at the schoolboard want me to take my GED at the end of summer school.”, he finally said. The beta’s mouth snapped shut with shock.

“Wh-? But that’s… You’ll have to learn the whole program in like… a month!”, he shout-whispered to the unfazed chimera, whose smirk only widened.

“Aw, are you worried about me, Liam pup?”, he drawled mockingly. Liam didn’t hesitate before sending a small but powerful kick to his shin under the table.

“Ouch!”, Theo laughed. “Don’t make us fight again, I’m not sure the nice old lady at the front desk will let it go without telling the Principal this time.”

“For the nickname.”, Liam spat. “And I’m _not_ worried about you. In fact, I hope you fail!”, he retorted back; just a teeny-tiny bit childishly. Theo chuckled.

“You know I can hear it when you lie, right? Don’t worry wolf p-“, Liam kicked him again, with more force this time, and Theo laughed again before resuming, “I’m not giving up on our bet. I still have to do the History exams each weeks. Which means… I can still beat you.”, he finished cockily. Liam felt a weird kind of relief wash over him and he couldn’t prevent a small smile to tug at his lips.

“Thank god, wouldn’t have been fun to win by forfeit.”, he teased back. Theo scoffed pretentiously but didn’t try to argue. And Liam was not too shocked to realize he liked relaxed, well rested Theo a lot more than the zombie-like, tense version of him from the week prior.

“So, what have you got here?”, Theo cut through his thoughts by grabbing the notes from in front of him. He read them quickly. “Huh, I must admit the human seems to be pretty smart.” Liam snorted unattractively.

“Don’t call him that.”, he said while snatching the piece of paper back. He paused mid-air, and laid the sheet flat on the table between them. “Can you help me understand them? I’ll lend you all my school books in return. For the GED.” He felt his ears burn a little in a strange show of shyness; asking Theo for help and then offering his was still kind of uncomfortable despite them getting along okay for the past few days. The fact that Theo was staring at him with a quizzical look on his face didn’t help either.

“Sure.”, he finally said. Then, after a beat, he added much more quietly: “Thanks.”

***

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Liam felt like Theo and him had established some kind of routine together, as odd as it might sound – especially to Liam. Nevertheless, just like the previous week, they’d found each other at their table every morning for first period and they’d bicker quietly while the teacher answered questions and helped her students. Then they’d head to the library to study together – although it was mostly Theo helping Liam in Bio, because basically all he had to do at this point was read as much of the senior program as he could, only asking the beta to explain some details a bit more from time to time. Liam had learned quickly the guy had a pretty amazing memory, and the only thing that truly prevented him from having good grades in History before was lack of interest in the subject. Something Liam liked to think he had helped changing. Maybe a little.

Obviously, just because they were starting to bear each other’s presence better didn’t mean they had stopped fighting every now and then. Most times, it was only playful banter, but on occasions, it ended up shifting to more serious arguments until one of them had to walk away to avoid fighting in the library again. And, to be fair, Theo was the one doing the walking away and Liam, well… Liam had to admit he was the one doing the arguing. It was like he couldn’t help it: he’d get irritated about Biology, Theo would get all smart about it, then Liam would get snarky in return and anger would get the best of him before he knew it, until – weirdly – Theo would decide to deescalate the situation. Usually, and even though he knew this was for the best, the chimera’s show of maturity tended to annoy Liam even more, both because he felt like he would never be able to accomplish such a level of control over his emotions, but more importantly, because deep down, he was grateful for Theo’s levelheadedness.

This Wednesday afternoon was no different from the others. They’d just been back from the cafeteria where they’d bought a miserably bland lunch when Liam started to get frustrated over a page of his Biology book he had been trying to understand since 9 a.m.. Theo had tried to help – again – with little success, and that was when Liam snapped and called him out for explaining stuff to him like he was a 4 years old. He didn’t want the anger to take control again, but he had to let it out, somehow, and Theo – his former enemy, his rival – war right there. It was unfair, really. Especially when Theo would simply look at him with a mixed look of annoyance and disappointment before moving away from him to go brood on his History book. Like he had done just a minute ago, actually.

After he had calmed down a little from the original surge of frustration, Liam chanced a quick glance in the chimera’s direction. He was still sitting perfectly still on the opposite corner of the library table, his eyes trained on the book in front of him. Liam couldn’t even see them moving, he was just… staring at it. The beta felt guilt rolling in his stomach, and stared at his own book, trying to find something to say. He didn’t want to apologize because Theo _was_ , after all, an insufferably smug asshole who treated him like he was dumb most of the times, but he didn’t feel like leaving things as they were either.

He sighed quietly and looked at the time on his phone. 1:36. If he’d been alone, he probably would have left as soon as the last bell rang at 3, but Theo always stayed at least until 4, so he’d gotten the habit of staying with him basically all afternoons since they started working together; except, of course, on the few occasions (like on the previous day) where they had fought so badly they basically ignored each other for the rest of the day. But today was far from being as bad as Tuesday, so it would be fine if he stayed, wouldn’t it? Liam secretly hopes his presence wouldn’t piss Theo off even more than his general behavior already did. It couldn’t hurt him to get a few more hours of studying anyways.

Short of ideas on how to break the tension between them, Liam went back to the exercises he was trying to decipher on his Biology book, hoping that by the time he’d figured out at least one question, Theo would be done sulking and had talked to him again. Then they could finish the day as normal, hopefully. He begrudgingly tried to remember what the chimera had explained earlier about this particular lesson, and started rereading the pages all over again.

***

It took 20 minutes for Theo to stop reading the same sentence over and over again while his mind insulted Liam in circles for making him feel so vulnerable. Tired as he was, he thought it would be harder than usual to refrain from punching the idiotic beta in the face, but the truth was that the werewolf’s bitchy behavior hurt him more than it angered him. He noticed the not so subtle looks Lima shot at him from time to time and the slight smell of guilt wafting from him but his pride wouldn’t let him engage the beta again, so he tried his best to focus on the History schoolbook again.

After around an hour of reading and note taking, his attention was brought back to the other teenager at the table:

“Oh my god! I think I got it!”, Liam exclaimed, probably more to himself than to Theo. Nevertheless, the words were so surprising to hear that the chimera couldn’t help reacting.

“Really?”, he answered. Liam’s eyes shot to him in surprise, as if he didn’t expect a reaction. Their gazes help for a beat, before the beta looked down at his sheet of paper again. He sighed, as if grounding himself.

“You wanna check?”, he finally asked shyly while sliding the piece of paper slightly in Theo’s direction. The chimera felt a small smile form on his lips and he nodded. He moved two chairs over, bringing his book with him, until he was back on the spot in front of Liam. He could almost hear the gear turning anxiously in the beta’s mind while he reviewed the answered exercises on the sheet. When he was done, he looked up again to be met with the hopeful expression on Liam’s face.

“So you do listen to me after all.”, he said with a smirk while he handed the paper back. A breath caught in his throat when Liam’s face broke into the biggest beam he’d ever seen him sport since the start of summer school.

“Yeah…”, Liam whispered. “Thanks, I guess.”, he shrugged. I wish you could apologize too, Theo was (not so) shocked to think, before he immediately chastised himself internally for entertaining such a stupid hope. Still, a bit of recognition was better than nothing. He felt like testing his luck, so he spoke again, teasing:

“I’m starting to think you might actually stand a chance against me.” Liam scoffed in response, a gleam of familiar mischief in his eyes.

“Don’t act like I didn’t warn you when you’ll have to empty your wallet on Monday.”, he retorted back with a grin. For the first time since the beginning of the week, he smelled like confidence, and Theo didn’t mind it. They fell into a bit of an awkward silence for a second. Oddly, it reminded the chimera of his childhood, when he would have a stupid fight with Scott or Stiles and they’d awkwardly make up without even acknowledging the previous disagreement. Simpler times.

His train of thought was interrupted by Liam’s voice:

“But seriously though, did I really do okay?”, the beta asked sheepishly. It made Theo chuckle and he grabbed the sheet of paper as well as the Bio book from in front of him to double check.

“Yeah, you only made a few mistakes. You got the basis to understand the rest of the chapter before your test on Friday.”, he finally reassured the anxious werewolf. “You’re welcome, by the way.”, he added smugly. Liam rolled his eyes, but the look he gave him after that was full of gratitude. Theo’s stomach felt warm; he ignored it.

***

The next day, Liam woke up feeling like he could take over the world. After his breakthrough the previous afternoon, he’d managed to learn more in a few hours than he had for the whole first week of summer school, and he was growing optimistic that he’d regain his role as Team Captain the next September if he kept up with his good work.

High on his high spirit, he felt like apologizing to Theo for his attitude the previous afternoon, something he didn’t think he would want to do, ever. But when he laid eyes on the chimera upon entering their classroom, his mind was completely sidetracked. Did he already look this tired the previous day and Liam hadn’t noticed?, he wondered. Sure, the guy seemed to constantly sport the shadow of dark circles under his eyes, but Liam could swear it was worse than before. When he came near their table, he noticed a strong smell of coffee emanating from a Starbucks cup sitting in front of the chimera. He sat down next to the teenager who greeted him with a small nod, but no snarky remark like he was used to. So he’s that tired, Liam thought.

“Well, good morning to you too, Theo!”, he exclaimed in a teasing tone he hoped would make Theo react. The chimera sided eyed him with a mildly annoyed look and grumbled “’Morning.” tiredly before bringing the foam cup to his lips and taking a large gulp. Then, he dipped to the side of the desk to retrieve his notepad from his bag, opened it on the table, and started reading it. Almost like he was purposefully ignoring Liam. The beta felt his good mood slipping away at an alarming rate. Right when he thought they were making progress, the guy was suddenly grumpy and tired and he would have to bear with it all day.

Sighing, Liam abandoned the idea of having any kind of meaningful conversations with the chimera for at lest an hour, since he was apparently so dead inside he needed 3 shots of expresso to wake up properly, and took his own notes out of his backpack. A few minutes later, the teacher was entering the room with her usual cheerful attitude and the “lesson” (if you can call it that) started.

By the time Theo had finished his coffee and Ms. Millard came to their table to check on their progress, as she did every morning, the chimera looked mostly alive and had even talk to Liam, asking him the date of an event he was unsure about. The nice teacher seemed happy to see them cooperate well enough after Liam nearly changed group on the first day, and showed genuine support after hearing about Liam’s breakthrough and newfound motivation. The beta could swore he saw Theo looking at him with a small smile from the corner of his eyes when he was talking to her, but when he turned to check, the older teenager was looking at his notes again. Either way, he wasn’t brooding anymore, and Liam appreciated it, although he was still a little worried about the chimera’s disheveled state.

After her “round” of the class was done, Ms. Millard announced that one of the chemistry teacher was holding a lab practice session in the afternoon for extra credits, and a few slots were still open in case any pair felt like joining. Liam didn’t think much before raising his arm and the teacher smiled proudly while writing down their names on her form.

“Wh-?”, Liam heard Theo choke next to him. “Are you any good at chemistry?”, he asked worriedly. Liam beamed at him.

“Not really, but it’s lab practice, it’ll be easy!”, he retorted enthusiastically. Theo chuckled and shook his head incredulously, but he didn’t argue further. Instead, he added with a teasing tone:

“I think I preferred you when you hated school.”

***

When they were finally released from class to go study on their own for a few hours, the pair walked to the library and took their usual spot in the familiar back corner of the large hall. They decided to quiz each other for a little while, considering they’d have their second test the next morning, and went back and forth in a playful atmosphere until the 10 a.m. bell rang. After allowing themselves a small pause (which they each spent scrolling on their phones, Liam answering texts and Theo… doing Theo stuff, probably), they went back to their notes to cram as much revision time they could before their afternoon lab session.

As he knew which were his weaker points thanks to Theo quizzing him, Liam managed to work efficiently for about 40 minutes, until he realized just how still his partner had gone on the opposite side of the table. In fact, all he could hear from him at this point were deep, slow breaths. And sure enough, when he peeled his eyes from Mason’s scrambly notes to look at the chimera, he found him slouched slightly to the side, with one elbow planted firmly on the table while his hand supported his heavy head: he was fast asleep. Liam gasped quietly in a mix of shock and amusement, but stopped himself from making any more noises or sudden movements that could wake the chimera up. He eyed his phone sitting on the table, considering snapping a quick picture that would, no doubt, come in use later; but when his gaze fell back on the relaxed, soft – maybe slightly squished – face in front of him, any of the mischievous ideas he previously entertained vanished from his mind. He looks so peaceful, he heard himself think. He stared at the long brown lashes fanning the chimera’s dark circles, moved to a round, pale cheekbone, before his eyes fell on the plump, parted lips between which deep breaths passed at a steady rhythm. He looks so… young. He looks… innocent, his mind supplied again. Something churned deep inside of Liam, an uneasy feeling mixed with something else, indescribable, and the beta snapped back to reality. He felt his cheeks grow red and hot, and had to take a deep, steadying gasp of air to calm his stumping heart.

When he was done shoving any of the weird thoughts his mind had formulated while he was staring at the sleeping teenager as far down his brain as possible, he cleared his throat loudly and purposefully. Theo jumped, his head slipped from her perch on his hand but he straightened it immediately – at the same time, his eyes shot open, wide with panic, before he apparently remembered where he was and calmed down.

***

After waking up in a jolt, Theo needed a few seconds to realize where he was. He had fallen asleep in front of his notes, and he front of Liam, his hazy mind informed him. He cursed his chimeric body internally: although his condition allotted him the type of supernatural abilities that meant he could heal any injuries in a matter of minutes (or hours, for the worst ones) and he virtually never got sick, he was still burdened with the obligation to take care of his body in the form of good sleep and food if he wanted said abilities to work properly. In an annoying paradox, the coffee he had drank this morning to replace his missing hours of sleep only worked his magic until his fast metabolism cancelled its effects – the same way alcohol had very little influence on him. Thus, he fell asleep and was out for God knows how long. He felt weak, and the staticky voice of a Dread Doctor echoed in his mind – “Failure.”.

Embarrassment bloomed in his chest and he felt his face redden before he was able to get a good grip on his emotions. The awkward look Liam was giving him didn’t help the slightest, but he shook his head slightly and managed to compose himself again. However, he didn’t feel like looking at the beta werewolf in the face yet; instead, he noticed Liam’s phone sitting next to his notes on the library table. He felt a ping of worry and humiliation, but Liam looked so uneasy it was hard imagining him doing something as unsensitive as taking a picture of him while he was snoring on his hand. He’d still have to check later, just in case. In an attempt at breaking the awkward silence, he asked:

“How long was I out?” His own gravely voice surprised him and he cleared his voice discreetly. Liam looked more than glad for the normal-ish question and a small, slightly mocking, smile appeared on his face. Theo wasn’t happy about it, but it was better than the puzzling look he was giving him a second earlier.

“I’m not sure, but I’d say around 30 minutes. Do you feel better?”, he added. Like you care, Theo thought bitterly. Still, he grimaced before answering in all honesty:

“Nah, I feel worse.” He brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes in an attempt at dissipating the fog in his brain.

“How are you so tired you fell asleep after chugging 5 shots of expresso two hours ago?”, Liam surprised him by asking. He was tempted to evade the question with a half-assed excuse but he was so tired and frustrated, and Liam was giving him that pitiful look he hated so much…

“Some of us have to work to put food on the table, Liam.”, he spat, maybe a bit too dryly, instead. The pitiful expression only deepened and Theo immediately regretted his honesty.

“But you’re always at school until 4, at least! When do you have time to-”, Liam started, before Theo saw realization hitting him. He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes; the beta lived such a sheltered life – if you ignored the supernatural aspect of his life. “Oh, you work at night.”, he finally stated with something close to compassion on his face. Theo only nodded curtly. Liam’s expression quickly shifted and the chimera could almost follow the teen’s train of thoughts as his eyebrows did a strange little dance above his eyes and his mouth twisted in confusion. The guy was getting all sort of weird ideas of what kind of job Theo did, he realized.

“Oh my god, Liam, I’m a night receptionist, not a prostitute! Quit making that face, it makes me want to punch your nose into your skull.”, he snapped in an irritated whisper-shout. The beta’s face smoothed immediately into… relief? Theo was getting more and more annoyed by the second.

“I was thinking drug dealer or night club bodyguard, but you’d make a fine sex worker too.”, Liam said with a shit eating grin. Theo choked miserably when he heard the oddly phrased half-compliment but he couldn’t help a small laugh escaping him. Liam looked way too proud of his joke, but he let it slide because the tension around them had eased considerably.

“So, night receptionist, huh?”, Liam asked after snickering for a few seconds. Theo appreciated the conversational effort.

“Yeah. I do the 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. shifts 5 nights a week at a motel.”, he explained, avoiding to mention he also lived in said motel on purpose. The beta didn’t need to know about his shitty life situation more than he already did.

“Wow, okay, hold on. You got all this time where you _have_ to be awake, that you could clearly use to study, and you still stay at school all day? Why? You could leave at 3 p.m. and go to sleep for like, 5 hours, before your shift starts, you moron!”, Liam scolded him like a worried mom. Theo didn’t refrain from rolling his eyes, this time.

“You think I don’t know that? It’s just-”, he paused when he realized he wasn’t sure how much he was ready to admit to the beta, “In case you don’t remember, I have twice as much work to do than you have. I need all the time I can get. Besides, I have enough time to sleep before and after my shifts.”, he finally answered.

“Clearly!”, Liam scoffed sarcastically. Theo wanted to protest, but he knew Liam was right.

The truth was, he stayed at school late because he had come to realize he worked better in the company of somebody else – but the company in question happened to be Liam, so he couldn’t just say that. Liam also didn’t need to know that the chimera’s sleep had been plagued by nightmares ever since he’d met the Dread Doctors, and that he’d very rarely get an actual good night of rest, even when he had the time. In any case, although the beta didn’t look convinced in the slightest, he dropped the matter.

For the remaining hours until the lab practice class, Theo had to fight with his brain to stay awake and alert, but it was much easier done now that Liam had apparently made it his mission to annoy him into remaining active – quizzing him incessantly, asking him to explain random Biology bits and borrowing his pens every five minutes. Maybe Liam thought he was being subtle, but Theo could see clear as day it was his weird, friendly way of being helpful. And although he wouldn’t admit it, even to himself, it made the strange warmth in his belly glow a bit stronger.

***

Liam was trying his hardest not to laugh while he watched Theo being scolded by the Chemistry teacher who was definitely not payed enough to be putting out the fire that a tired chimera had lit in his lab by mistake in the middle of July.

As it turned out, lab practice would have been easy extra credits if not for Theo being so out of it that he forgot the test tube he had been heating up on a burner, said tube exploding, its content catching on fire and spraying the whole surface of the workbench, and both his and Liam’s experiment report going up in flames as a result. Thankfully, the two teenagers’ exceptional reflexes allowed them to pull away fast enough to avoid being burned (not that it would have been that bad, but they’d rather avoid attracting attention on their healing abilities), and the teacher was at their bench with a fire extinguisher in less than a minute. Liam was also very glad their table had been on the front row and there was nobody in front of them to be harmed by Theo’s little mistake. The splashing zone had been fairly limited and, frankly, Liam thought Mr. Baker was exaggerating a bit when he said they could have killed the whole class, but still.

After what must have been Theo’s 18th “sorry”, “I’m really sorry”, “I’ll be more careful next time” uttered to the furious Chemistry teacher, Liam decided he should probably try and go help both the chimera – who looked ready to explode after apologizing so many times in a matter of minutes, and the teacher – who was at risk of losing a limb or two in the process. Not that he was entirely convinced the chimera would really harm the poor overworked middle-aged man, in fact he was pretty sure he wouldn’t. Better safe than sorry, though.

After he took part of the blame on him, apologized a dozen of times, and successfully convinced the teacher not to report them to Mrs. Martin if they helped him clean the whole room the next afternoon as a punishment, the two teenagers quickly fled the scene to retreat into the safety of the library. Liam would lie if he said they didn’t giggle dumbly on the way there, him making fun of Theo for almost blowing up the school, and both of them recalling the hilariously red teacher’s face as he was yelling at them afterwards.

As they marked a pause in front of the library’s double door to calm down before entering the silent zone, Liam was happy to notice the fresh scent of joy and fun coming in waves from the smiling chimera. It reminded him of their fight almost a week earlier, and he repressed a new giggling fit.

“At least you didn’t fall back asleep.”, he couldn’t help teasing Theo again. He wasn’t surprised when the chimera bursted in full laughter again. Maybe Ms. Millard was right after all and they did make a good team – in their own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this update and you're looking forward the story getting more and more interesting like I am. If you liked this chapter (or not!), please leave a kudo and/or a comment, it would mean a lot to me! <3


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